I disagree about the falling apart (was that a tongue in cheek statement).
I wasn't kidding, much. Why should books last more than one or two good
uses if they are just going to be resold and, thereby, feed (via the
vicious circle) the spiraling cost of textbooks? Dan pointed out
(probably correctly) that there is not much extra expense to adding a
hardcover, but if books last, they will be resold and if they are resold,
new books will continue to cost more. Therefore, hardcover books make
books more expensive not because they *are* more expensive, but because
they *last* (sometimes.)
John
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A. John Mallinckrodt http://www.intranet.csupomona.edu/~ajm
Professor of Physics mailto:ajmallinckro@csupomona.edu
Physics Department voice:909-869-4054
Cal Poly Pomona fax:909-869-5090
Pomona, CA 91768-4031 office:Building 8, Room 223